Sisimiut

Sisimiut is the second largest town in Greenland with around five thousand people, sitting north of the Arctic Circle on the west coast, and it is the northernmost town in the country with a harbour that stays open through the winter. The old colonial quarter holds the Bethel church of 1775, the oldest surviving in Greenland, alongside a museum in the old colonial buildings. It is the northern limit of Greenland's dog sledding district.

Background

Known in Danish as Holsteinsborg, the town lies on the Davis Strait coast approximately 320 kilometres north of Nuuk, and its Greenlandic name translates as the residents at the foxholes. The site has 4,500 years of habitation behind it, first the Saqqaq culture from Arctic Canada, then the Dorset culture and the Thule people, whose Inuit descendants form most of today's population. Danish settlers came in the 1720s under the missionary Hans Egede, and the town's founding is dated to 1764. Fishing is the main industry. The new church in the centre dates from 1926, and the Taseralik Culture Centre was the second cultural centre to open in Greenland, after Katuaq in Nuuk.

Source: Wikipedia, "Sisimiut"

What to look for

• The Bethel church - the 1775 building, the oldest church in Greenland.
• The colonial quarter - the old buildings holding the town museum.
• The dog sledding - the town at the southern edge of the sledding district's northern half.
• The ice-free harbour - the northernmost year-round port in the country.

When to go

June to September for hiking and boats. March to May is the dog sledding season with light and snow together. Winter is dark and very cold.

Practical notes

Dogs are working animals here and the rules about approaching them are strict and serious. Flight connections are limited and weather cancels them regularly. Prices are very high.

Nearby

Kangerlussuaq is east along the trail, and Aasivissuit is inland.

Key facts